COMMUNITY centre that has served the town for nearly 20 years is to close.

Pochin Sports and Social Club is to shut down as its owner has decided to concentrate on its core construction business.

Pochin Plc has handed out redundancy notices to staff members and the club has told users it will close on Saturday, February 28.

No future bookings are being taken, and staff and clubs based at the centre have started to leave.

Bosses at Pochin are hoping someone will step in to take over the running of the club, but no one has yet taken up the role.

Johnny McEnaney, who runs the club on behalf of Pochin with his wife Norah, said just two bar staff and cleaners remain employed.

Fears for the future of the club were raised in December after the bowling club which meets there was told it could no longer receive subsidies from Pochin.

Groups that have called the Pochin club their home for nearly 20 years will be forced to find other venues if its future isn't secured.

It could even mean they have to look outside Middlewich as other venues, such as the town's community centre and Civic Hall, are booked up.

Pochin bosses say they are in talks with possible tenants to take over the running of the club and make it a successful venue in Middlewich.

Richard Brook, director of Pochin Plc, said: 'We are looking to attract tenants. We have owned the club for 20 or 30 years, but we are a construction company and not a company that runs clubs.

'It is not part of our core business and we have decided we are not running it any longer.

'It's not being knocked down and we have got a couple of potential tenants lined up to take over. Ideally, that will happen at the end of February but, subject to securing a licensee, it might take a bit longer than that. We had to give an end date to the current users and we have done that.'

He added: 'We are looking for tenants and they would be expected to run it like their own private business. I would imagine that the new tenants would like to keep the same people going in there - they will be pretty shortsighted if they don't.

'And I imagine they would want to expand the business. If they have expertise they will make it a raging success, and I certainly hope they do.'

The Brooks Lane club, which was built in 1909 and was used as a social club by ICI when it was based in Middlewich, will be empty from the end of the month until a new tenant has been found.